"I have a gun, but the bullets are limited. This thing can only use special bullets, and those bullets are secretly produced by the US military. They're not even available on the black market; you can't buy them at all. If the people on this ship weren't so cunning, I really wouldn't have been willing to use them." Adams took the last puff of his cigar, casually tossing the end of the cigar far away, and said with a hint of helplessness.
By this time, the sniper had completely assembled the Barrett enhanced sniper rifle. He walked onto the platform, carefully looked through the electronic scope, and then loaded the ten-centimeter-long special sniper bullets one by one into the chamber. Then, he focused intently on the rifle, shook the barrel, and after a moment, fired a shot at a thug on the ferry whose head was the only part of his body visible.
With a loud hum, a heavy and crisp gunshot rang out, and the thug on the ferry had his head blown into the air like a lit firecracker, leaving only a headless body leaning against the ship's side before slowly falling to the ground.
"It's bad, Brother Yu! Sha Laosi has been killed! There's a sniper among the pirates!" The fat man rushed into the cockpit in a panic, shouting to Lao Yu, who was focused on steering the ferry. He was quite knowledgeable; he could tell from the gunshots that the other side had a high-end weapon. This meant that within a distance of nearly 100 meters, everyone on their side had become a sitting duck. Under the sniper's fire, any attempt to expose themselves would be tantamount to suicide.
"What? A sniper?" Old Yu was also taken aback. His hands trembled instinctively, causing the ferry to sway sideways again, followed by another violent rocking motion. Beads of sweat the size of soybeans immediately dripped from Old Yu's wrinkled forehead. He hadn't expected the pirates they were tracking to be so well-equipped, even having a sniper. On such a wide open sea with no cover, there was nothing to shield them from bullets except the ship itself. This meant that if the enemy caught up, and they forced their way onto the ship, they would be shot in the head the moment they showed their faces to fight back.
"Tell the brothers not to show their faces and fight back for now. Find cover and hide. Don't try to look at the enemy. Just hold out for a while." Old Yu wiped the sweat from his forehead and nervously instructed Fatty in a low voice.
"Okay, Brother Yu, I'll arrange it right away." The fat man, fully aware of the danger involved, quickly opened the door and left.
As Lao Yu issued the order, nearly twenty thugs found cover and hid instead of engaging in a pointless firefight. In fact, although the two sides kept the distance between them within 100 meters, the strong sea breeze made it difficult for bullets from AK47s, except for sniper rifles, to exceed 100 meters in effective range. Ordinary submachine guns were even less than 50 meters away, with bullets being blocked and falling into the sea.
But the misfortune didn't stop there. The distinctive crisp sound of the Barrett continued to ring out, each shot accompanied by a scream. The thugs hiding behind cover were still being shot in the head or through vital parts, falling to their deaths with cries of agony. The upgraded Barrett special sniper bullets were no joke; although incredibly expensive and scarce, their impact force, capable of penetrating ten centimeters of pure steel plate in an instant, made them worth the price.
To the sniper with his infrared scope, the entire ferry was transparent. Anyone who tried to hide and survive by relying on cover was incredibly foolish. Of course, you can't blame them for being foolish; they just didn't understand the special properties of Barrett bullets. The sniper patiently and steadily sent the thugs to their deaths one by one.
The fat man was terrified and ran around looking for a place to hide. After seeing the thugs hiding behind the thick iron plate all get shot in the head, he completely gave up on finding cover. In a moment of quick thinking, the fat man suddenly pounced into the group of stowaways huddled together. He realized that these stowaways didn't seem to be the pirates' target, and it would be safe to hide among them. Moreover, even if snipers fired at the stowaways, the thick human wall would be enough to block the bullets.
The stowaways watched helplessly as their vicious thugs were either pierced through the chest and blown open in the stomach, or had their heads blown off. The gruesome scene triggered their fragile nerves once again. Like fish scattering in all directions, they frantically ran from one end of the boat to the other, only to run back again when they found nowhere to hide. This repeated back and forth endlessly. Meanwhile, more than half of the thugs were dead or wounded, and the rest were terrified and no one paid them any attention.
As chaos began to break out on the ferry, the sniper couldn't help but sneer. There was no need to kill these unarmed, headless men and women just yet; their lives were less valuable than the bullets in his hand. He needed to find a more worthwhile target.
Suddenly, the sniper's gun stopped pointing at a spot. Through the X-ray binoculars, it was a rather strangely quiet little cabin. A young couple could be vaguely seen sitting quietly inside, seemingly oblivious to the outside world.
The sniper smiled, adjusted the muzzle of his gun slightly, and prepared to gently pull the trigger.
Chapter 284 A Desperate Gamble
However, after seeing the two figures, the sniper hesitated and did not pull the trigger. Although the faces of the boy and girl were not clearly visible through the scope, their infrared figures were clearly revealed. The boy was nothing special; he was rather thin and, although he looked upright, he was just an ordinary person.
However, the girl's figure was like a perfect silhouette, revealing an incredibly beautiful and slender figure under the infrared light. Even as just an infrared shadow, she was quite captivating. Moreover, her soft, flowing hair showed that the girl's appearance was by no means inferior to her figure.
It would be a shame to kill him with one shot. It's better not to go all out before seeing their true faces. These two are clearly not low-ranking people, and they should be quite wealthy. That girl should be kept for the boss to see. The sniper thought to himself, pointing his gun at Ling Yun's head, deciding to kill the boy with one shot first.
Bang!
The crisp sound of gunfire rang out once again. The thugs and stowaways on the ferry, who had narrowly escaped death, listened in fear, wondering whose life this time the gunshot, like that of a demon from hell, would take. Everyone secretly prayed that the terrible shot would not fall on their own bodies.
……………
After a long while, people finally looked up, looking at each other in confusion, then glancing around. What was going on? It seemed different from the previous times. In the first dozen or so shots, almost every shot was accompanied by a scream and a spray of blood. Why was there no scream this time, except for the gunshots? Had that terrifying sniper's marksmanship missed? For a moment, the stowaways and the thugs looked at each other in astonishment, thinking either a miracle had occurred or that the other side had made a mistake.
A slender, white index finger and thumb gently pinched a ten-centimeter-long, pointed bullet. This bullet had no shell, but was made entirely of pure, bright stainless steel alloy. The rear part was filled with TNT gunpowder for propulsion. The bullet had a streamlined design, and its surface was engraved with spiral patterns, which could play a role in overcoming air resistance. If you disregarded the bullet's function, the bullet itself was enough to be a work of art.
"The more beautiful something is, the more dangerous it can be. It seems we can no longer remain spectators," Ling Yun said calmly. The moment the sniper fired the bullet at him, his mental field intercepted it and Xiao Rou gently held it in her hand. The two of them stared at the bullet with great interest.
"I'm not harmful at all, okay?" Xiaorou hooked her slender, soft arm around his neck and chuckled as she said, "Don't generalize. Shall we go out now?"
Ling Yun gently tapped her delicate nose, suddenly recalling a time when he was tracking Lao Liao in the western part of Beijing. He had once faced off against a sniper from a military organization whose unit he still didn't know the name of. It seemed he had a special connection with snipers, as he could see these assassins on both land and sea. However, this time, the guns and bullets used by the other party were clearly more advanced. Any ordinary person, even a superhuman who had just activated their mental field, would probably have died a violent death. When he used his mental field to deflect the impact of the bullet, Ling Yun was also slightly surprised by its force.
"I reckon Lao Yu won't be able to hold back and will come looking for us soon, but before that, to avoid anyone harassing us, it's better to teach these blind fools a lesson." Ling Yun gently took the Barrett bullet from Xiao Rou's hand, then suddenly flicked his finger. A powerful mental field flashed with silver light, and the Barrett bullet whistled out of its original trajectory without making a sound. This was because it was moving at its maximum speed, leaving the speed of sound far behind.
The sniper stared blankly through the infrared binoculars at the still-moving boy and girl. He was certain that the bullets had been fired without any jamming or misdirection. The binoculars even showed the hole left by the Barrett bullet as it pierced the iron wall of the single compartment, and the boy's body remained motionless behind that hole.
But now, there was neither the boy's scream nor the distinctive sound of a bullet hitting an obstacle. It was as if the bullet, after passing through the iron walls of the single-cell compartment, had entered another world and vanished without a trace; otherwise, how could the boy have been unharmed? A bizarre thought suddenly surged into the sniper's mind: perhaps... there wasn't a real person in the single-cell compartment, just two nameless silhouettes. Immediately afterward, he was startled by his own thought. How could this be? Two shadows moving in infrared light? That could only be ghosts.
How could one see ghosts in broad daylight? Was he not far from death? The sniper wondered in confusion, as if he saw something flying towards him, like a mosquito, but what kind of mosquito could fly so fast?
The sniper only saw a flash of silver light, then he saw the barrel of his gun shudder violently, gradually turning red from the barrel to the gun body, and then exploding into a shower of metal shavings, extending all the way to the electronic scope in the middle of the gun. The double-layered tinted glass scope with infrared function shattered instantly into countless tiny crystals invisible to the naked eye, and then the silver tip flew out again from the crystals, shooting into another soft crystal that still had a slightly bewildering look on its face—the sniper's eyeball.
With a soft "poof," a jet of blood suddenly shot out, causing the sniper's hair to flutter. The high-hardness stainless steel alloy bullet still hadn't completely dissipated its kinetic energy. After piercing the sniper's brain tissue, it continued forward, silently penetrating the forehead of the gunner who was inspecting the cannon muzzle, before exploding with a "bang" on the flagpole made entirely of steel the thickness of a bowl, where the pirate flag was raised.
The Barrett bullet finally completed its mission. The high-alloy shell could no longer withstand the air friction and violent impact brought about by the enormous kinetic energy. It turned into a blazing silver flame and engulfed the flagpole. Instantly, the brocade pirate flag was swept into the sea of fire and turned into a burning ashes. With a creak, the flagpole, which was broken in half, could not support its own weight and slowly fell backward. With a bang, it dented the hatch behind it.
A sharp, whistling sound carried on the wind, instantly causing a burning pain in everyone's ears. Everyone involuntarily covered their ears, their faces showing unbearable agony. It was the sound of bullets carried by the sea breeze after the rapid-fire barrage of bullets.
The power of a single bullet is greater than this.
Adams and Kay unwrapped their ears and looked at each other in fear. Their faces showed a mixture of terror and confusion. Adams asked, puzzled, "Does the other side have a sniper?" But as soon as the words left his mouth, he knew something was wrong. If the other side also had a sniper, why would they wait until he had killed more than a dozen assassins before launching a counterattack?
Kay sighed: "Adams, what did I say? It seems we don't understand many things. My advice is to retreat quickly to avoid the possibility of our opponents having experts, otherwise we will suffer even greater casualties."
"No, my dear Kay, they've enraged me. I must make them pay a heavy price for their actions. Those who dared to kill my men, I'd rather lose money than let them die." Adams regained his composure, a ferocious glint in his eyes as he spoke viciously. He was truly furious. Having been a ruthless pirate for so many years, with such superior weaponry, eliminating the enemy with zero casualties was the norm. But now, before he'd even killed many of their men, his own side had already lost a seasoned sniper and an experienced gunner. In terms of value, these two men far surpassed the entire enemy fleet.
He made a gesture, and the pirates behind him, lined up in a row, began to prepare for battle, forming a fan shape with each person maintaining equal distance. This was to ensure the fastest and most efficient attack. Adams was ready to forcefully attack the ship. Two heavy machine gunners took positions on both sides of the deck, ready to provide cover for the attacking pirates at any time. Adams then issued an order, commanding the compass operator to advance at full speed and to intercept the smuggling ship within ten minutes, even if it meant ramming and sinking it, just to vent his anger.
Kay wanted to say something, but after twitching his thick, black lips, he silently walked away. Adams was the real boss on the pirate ship, while he was just a retired Marine Corps special forces instructor who trained pirates. Black people have their own wisdom; they always know when to offer advice to their boss and when to simply obey.
The weather is nice today. Kai glanced at the blazing sun overhead. The sea was calm, and a gentle sea breeze was blowing. If it weren't for the tense robbery, this would be a really nice place to relax. Maybe after this, I can consider taking some money back to America to live a leisurely life, Kai thought silently, forcibly suppressing the vague unease in his heart.
Old Yu was still nervously navigating the ferry, completely oblivious to the changes taking place inside the cabin and on the pirate ship. He didn't even hear the screams and gunfire that were right next to him. All his attention was focused on the compass. Judging from the current tracking and counter-tracking situation, the distance between the two sides was manageable. Just two more hours, Old Yu thought to himself, and he was confident he could steer the ship into the Devil's Sea. With his familiarity with the terrain, he was sure he could shake off the pirate ship's pursuit. Or, if the pirate ship also knew about that reef-filled area, they wouldn't bother to venture there or risk anything. As for how many people would die, that was no longer Old Yu's concern.
Suddenly, the ferry's engine emitted a loud, whirring sound, followed by a pungent, burnt smell that filled the fuel compartment. The ferry jolted violently, its speed immediately decreasing. Still propelled forward by inertia, it continued at a rapid pace. Old Yu was startled, assuming the engine had malfunctioned due to the high speed. He put down his compass and frantically searched the numerous colorful electronic gauges for the problem. A few seconds later, he finally found it. Old Yu's face turned deathly pale, and his heart sank to the bottom. There was only one reason the ferry had stopped: it had run out of fuel.
Old Yu slapped his thigh in frustration. The ferry wasn't without spare fuel, but under the relentless pursuit of the pirate ships, there was no time to refuel. The pirate ships would surround them within minutes; a simple horizontal blockade would seal off the ferry's escape route. In his intense state of tension, he had forgotten the difference in fuel consumption between normal speed and maximum speed, causing the fuel to burn out prematurely. This had pushed him headlong into the abyss.
Old Yu paused for a moment, then a resolute and ruthless look suddenly appeared on his face. Since there was no way to escape, he might as well fight to the death. Judging from the enemy's continuous shelling threat, they obviously wanted to force their way onto the ship. This was the last chance. There was no need to keep any weapons, or just leave a single bullet, which was to be used as a note when they ran out of ammunition and supplies.
He bent down and pulled a fully loaded MA4 from the metal cabinet beneath the compass. This was the best gun on the ferry, a collector's edition that Lao Yu had bought on the black market. He had initially thought it was only for collection purposes, but now it had actually come in handy. Lao Yu sighed, gently wiped the dust off the MA4 with a clean, damp cloth, turned, pushed open the door, and stepped out of the cockpit.
As he passed the door of the single cabin, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and a look of hesitation appeared on his face. However, he still carefully walked to the door of the single cabin and gently knocked on the thin iron door.
Throughout, not a sound came from the single cabin. If it weren't for the fact that the cabin was sealed, Lao Yu would have strongly suspected that Ling Yun and Xiao Rou had already left the ferry. But with the vast ocean, how could they possibly leave? Yet, if they hadn't left, how could the passenger cabin have been so quiet amidst the pirate ship's cannon fire and gunfire, which had already thrown the passenger cabin into chaos? But no matter how mysterious the other party was, Lao Yu had to bite the bullet and tell them the news. As for their choice—whether to fight or flee—he couldn't worry about that now.
With a heart full of trepidation, Lao Yu knocked a few more times. He decided that if there was still no response, then he had done his best. Perhaps the two weren't as complicated as he had imagined, or perhaps they were already trembling with fear in their single cabin. Lao Yu thought to himself.